If you don't know who Nick Savoy is, you NEED to. He is one of the geniuses behind pickup and he has video posts, his own blog and even a couple books out there.
Here are two video posts. One is about the myth behind approaching women. Despite what you think, they actually do enjoy being approached:

In this one, he talks about how spending money can affect the direction of the relationship. Being cheap is not the way to go...but showering them in money may not help you either: